Shows for Days
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Cititour.com Review
The gift of writing great parts for women and zingy one liners should not be accepted lightly in today’s theatrical universe, which explains why a hearty “thank you” should be given to Douglas Carter Beane for his newest play, “Shows for Days,” now receiving a first-rate production under Jerry Zaks’ fleet and fluid direction at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater.
While Beane has pulled off this tricky feat numerous times before, most notably in “As Bees in Honey Drown” and “The Little Dog Laughed,” he’s written one of his finest parts – and some of his funniest lines – for the incomparable Patti LuPone. As might be expected, this consummate performer simply devours the multi-layered role of 1970s’ Pennsylvania community theater doyenne Irene – a woman who will do anything for her art. (She’s sort of the Mama Rose of Reading!)
Moreover, those who adore the ins-and-outs of the theater world will find this script -- which has almost as in-jokes as Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play” – to be sheer delight, while other audience members might have more mixed reactions to the work.
Structured as a memory play, and admittedly based on Beane’s own teenaged years as a member of the local Genesius Theatre Company, “Shows for Days” isn’t always as solidly constructed as it might be. Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the show is having Beane’s onstage alter-ego Car – who acts as the show’s narrator -- played at both age 14 and presumably 50something by the 35-year-old Michael Urie. This wonderful and charming actor brings his priceless comic timing to the role, and can easily his hold own opposite the formidable LuPone. Yet, despite his undeniable talent, he’s not always thoroughly believable as a shy, nerdy (and theoretically unattractive) adolescent.
Irene’s relationships with Car, as well as with other members of her troupe are primarily well-drawn. The company’s no-nonsense “bull dyke” co-founder Sid is brought to brilliant life by the acerbic Dale Soules in a performance that is almost as good as LuPone’s. Lance Coadie Williams is mostly spot-on, but occasionally overdoes the feyness in African-American leading man Clive, Zoe Winters is very funny as the not-so-bright, oversensitive Maria, and Jordan Dean is ideally cast as the callow 19-year-old Damien, who ends up having simultaneous affairs with Irene and Car (which proves to be one of the show’s most pivotal plot points).
While what ends up on the stage of the Newhouse is minimal, John Lee Beatty has filled the back wall with a cornucopia of props and a ceiling full of lights, while William Ivey Long has dressed the cast in delicious period-appropriate attire, including a series of smashing and thoroughly over-the-top outfits for Irene.
Nostalgia, they say, isn’t what it used to be. But there’s no question that “Shows for Days” is something of a catharsis for its author, while also proving to be the perfect vehicle for the driving force of nature known as Patti LuPone.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.lct.org/shows/shows-days
Cast
Jordan Dean, Patti LuPone, Dale Soules, Michael Urie, Lance Coadie Williams, Zoe Winters
Open/Close Dates
Opening 6/29/2015
Closing 8/23/2015
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 6/6/2015
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
150 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023
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